TwentyWonder | Past Science Exhibits

Relive your favorite TwentyWonder events by looking back at our past performers and attractions. You can also check out the gallery of Friends of TwentyWonder who have lent us their support over the years. If you want to keep up to date on all the latest TwentyWonder news, we’ve got a Facebook page and a Twitter feed—because we’re modern like that.

Astrophysicists from Caltech

Deep Space Paparazzi

“Infrared Telescopes”

Jeff Rich and Tim Goodsall have expertise in astrophysics, astronomy, and telescopes. For TwentyWonder 2014 they showed up with their infrared (IR) camera to demonstrate the kinds of light that our eyes cannot perceive but that astronomers and other scientists rely on to learn about the Universe. Several space telescopes use IR light to investigate hidden properties of asteroids, newly born stars in the Milky Way, and distant merging galaxies. Visitors stopped by their exhibit in droves to glimpse the wonders of our cosmos.

2014 Science

The Atamian Collection

Naturalist Display

“TwentyWonder Exclusive”

One of the best parts of the TwentyWonder experience is that in the midst of masked wrestling, raunchy comedy, and Derby Dolls, you can suddenly find yourself in front of a sublime exhibit of scientific curiosity. TwentyWonder 2010 featured a display of Lepidoptera—butterflies and moths—from naturalist Eddy Atamian. It was a captivating experience of color, beauty, and evolutionary wonder.

2010 Science

Arthur Benjamin

Mathemagician

“Harvey Mudd College”

At TwentyWonder 2012, mathematician Arthur Benjamin wowed audiences with mind-boggling presentations of lightning-fast calculations that have been dubbed “Mathemagics”. During his career, Arthur has served as chair of the mathematics department at Harvey Mudd College and has been published extensively in the field of combinatorics—we assume it has to do with farm equipment. In addition to his amazing calculation abilities and professional achievements, he has advocated that students should be given a mathematics education that goes beyond calculation to the inspiration that can be found in the study of mathematics.

2012 Science

Dolores Bozovic, PhD

Biophysicist

“UCLA”

Dolores Bozovic is an associate professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA and a member of the California NanoSystems Institute. At TwentyWonder 2011 she presented her research into the the interface between physics and auditory neuroscience. The ultimate goal of her field is the understanding the basic processes of hearing. Her laboratory studies the motility of nanometer-scale auditory hair cells, the mechanism that turns sounds coming into your ear into electrical signals going out to your brain—you may know those cells better as the ones that make your head ring after listening to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

2012 Science

Dr. Richard Kaae

Insect Ambassador

“Cal Poly Dept of Plant Science”

Richard Kaae has more than 40 years’ experience in entomology. He is the patriarch of a three-generation, insect-loving family. During his 30+ years teaching at Cal Poly, Richard developed the most popular course offered at the university, Insects and Civilization, which has an annual enrollment of 2,000 students. TwentyWonder 2011 and 2014 visitors were invited to see his Madagascar Hissing Roaches, squirm at the sight of tarantulas, and get their hands literally on a praying mantis!

2014 Science

Taylor Lura

Entomologist

“UC Riverside”

Taylor grew up around bugs with her grandfather, a UC Riverside entomologist who famously created the University’s most popular course, Insects and Civilization. Taylor has followed in her grandfather’s footsteps, doing a PhD across the pond at Lancaster University studying, “Those finicky little Phlebotomine sandflies and their immune system.” For TwentyWonders 2010, she presented a display of entomological specimens. It drew so much attention that she was reprised in 2011 with the help of her entomologically inclined grandparents. We are grateful for her support and happy to call her a Friend of TwentyWonder.

Friends Science

Chris Mirabel

Marine Biologist

“California Science Center”

Known to many as the Los Angeles Derby Dolls referee “Oliver Clothesoff”, Chris Mirabel is also a marine biologist. He works at the California Science Center in Exposition Park doing research on applied behavior analysis. And if “Derby Doll reffing marine biologist” isn’t cool enough already, here’s the kicker: Chris does his research on sharks! He wasn’t able to bring his subjects to TwentyWonder 2012, unfortunately—or possibly fortunately, an accidental shark attack in Echo Park might have solidified TwentyWonder’s reputation as LA’s oddest summer festival, but I think we’d have a tougher time getting a permit.

2012 Science

David Saltzberg

Physics Professor

“UCLA”

Gotta love Saltzberg! He comes to us by way of The Big Bang Theory and its bevy of Friends of TwentyWonder. When David is not acting as the science consultant for Sheldon and the gang over at CBS, he is a professor of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA. During his career he has searched the glaciers of Greenland for signs of interplanetary neutrinos and collaborated with researchers at the famed Large Hadron Collider at CERN. For TwentyWonder 2012, he turned the Derby Dolls and their banked track into a large-scale demonstration of the experiment that discovered the Higgs Boson!

Friends Science

Stierwalt and Masiero, PhDs

Physicists

“CalTech”

These astrophysicists brought a display of stunning images from the Spitzer space telescope to TwentyWonder 2012. Using its infrared cameras, Spitzer can see dust and stars invisible to other telescopes, allowing it to capture stunning new images of the distant galaxies and nearest asteroids. Sabrina Stierwalt and Joe Masiero brought these images from their stomping grounds at CalTech’s Spitzer Science Center. Sabrina has since moved on to a position at the University of Virginia while Joe continues to work in Pasadena at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.

2012 Science

Joe Wise and Shari E. Asplund

Education and Outreach

“NASA JPL”

Joe Wise is an educator for NASA’s Dawn mission, which has been exploring the asteroid belt for the last several years. It made its first stop at the protoplanet Vesta, where it kicked off a scientific controversy by discovering gullies that may have been created by liquid water flowing on the surface. Dawn’s next stop is the dwarf planet Ceres. Shari E. Asplund works for NASA’s Discovery and New Frontiers Programs, the programs that developed and launched Dawn and other missions currently exploring our solar system.

2012 Science

Past Lineups: Science Exhibits

Astrophysicists from Caltech

The Atamian Collection

Arthur Benjamin

Dolores Bozovic, PhD

Dr. Richard Kaae

Taylor Lura

Chris Mirabel

David Saltzberg

Stierwalt and Masiero, PhDs

Joe Wise and Shari E. Asplund